(23 Apr 2024)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 23 April 2024
++NIGHT SHOTS++
1. Various of Saint George’s Parish with light projections and fireworks
2. Woman recording a video of the fireworks on her phone
3. Woman praying as fireworks light up the sky
4. Church bells ringing
5. Parish’s Saint George statue and image projection
6. Crowd of faithful raising their hands
7. Faithful praying
8. Faithful among the crowd holding a wooden statue of Saint George on a horse killing a dragon
9. Faithful holding a small statue of Saint George
10. Rodrigo Alfaia holding a statue of Saint George while taking a selfie with his family in front of a large statue of Saint George
11. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Rodrigo Alfaia, 42 years old, faithful: “Every year we are here at mass at dawn, for the last 14 years. We always ask for the same thing, that he helps us go through this new year that starts now on April 23rd, giving us protection and strength.”
12. Woman lighting up a candle
13. Woman holding a wooden statue of Saint George while praying next to candles
14. Various of faithful praying near candles
15. Eduarda Pereira praying
16. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Eduarda Pereira, 27 years old, model:
“It’s a very Carioca (person from Rio de Janeiro) saint and my devotion comes from my mother, who has been a devotee since she was born. So we always have the tradition of having our party, our feijoada, to come to mass.”
17. Various of priest splashing holy water
18. Various of group playing samba around a table with Saint George’s statue
STORYLINE:
Thousand of Brazilians gathered to celebrate Saint George’s Day, Rio de Janeiro’s state and city patron, during the first hours of Tuesday.
Celebrations started with a dawn Mass, with faithful crowding inside and outside of Saint George’s Parish.
Many were carrying statues of the saint, small and large, rosaries and wore red and white clothing.
“We always ask for the same thing, that he helps us go through this new year that starts now on April 23rd, giving us protection and strength,” said Rodrigo Alfaia, who attended mass at dawn with his family.
It also represents "Ogum," an entity of the Candomble and Umbanda worshippers who believe it gives them strength and protection against all evil.
Faithful from different religions lit up candles in gratitude for the saint.
The devotion to Saint George is very strong in the city where it rivals in popularity with its other state and city patron, Saint Sebastian.
AP Video by Lucas Dumphreys
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/7a43ab7e389a45c59c00564b9a1358ee
